Book Briefs, Nov. 12-18, 2013

This week’s literary event highlights include a Las Vegas Romance Writers workshop and a presentation by poet Derek Henderson as part of the Black Mountain Institutes Emerging Writers Series.

By VIEW STAFF

November 8, 2013 - 4:33 pm

ROMANCE WRITERS PLAN WORKSHOP

The Las Vegas Romance Writers plan to host a workshop from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 16 at the Learning Center, 727 Fremont St. The Before You Hit Send Workshop, to be led by Carina Press editorial director Angela James, is expected to address dialogue, advanced punctuation, point of view, active voice, pacing and more. The fee to participate is $50 for members of the Las Vegas Romance Writers and $75 for nonmembers. The fee includes lunch. For more information or to register, visit lasvegasrwa.org.

PJ Sheldon to sign ‘Feathers & Gifts’

Local author/photographer PJ Sheldon plans to sign her book “Feathers & Gifts” at noon Nov. 16 at the 567 N. Stephanie St. Barnes & Noble.

Donald Ensenbach plans signing

Donald Ensenbach is slated to sign his books “Shadows Through a Spirit Window” and “Kokopelli: Dream Catchers of an Ancient” from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Nov. 15 at the Book Boutique, 19 Pacific Ave., and at 1 p.m. Nov. 16 at the 567 N. Stephanie St. Barnes & Noble. ‘Bright Lights, Dark Places’ event set

Derek Henderson is scheduled to speak as part of the Black Mountain Institute’s Emerging Writers Series at 7 p.m. Nov. 19 in the Greenspun Hall Auditorium at UNLV, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway.

Henderson earned his Ph.D. in English and creative writing from the University of Utah and is a founder of Blue Night Press. He and BMI Ph.D. Fellow Derek Pollard collaborated on the poetry book “Inconsequentia.” Henderson is also the author of “Thus &.”

For more information, visit blackmountaininstitute.org.

Library Tree Lane to feature Robyn Carr

Best-selling Henderson romance author Robyn Carr is slated to be the featured guest author at this year’s Library Tree Lane Gala, scheduled from 7 to 10 p.m. Dec. 6 at the Paseo Verde Library, 280 S. Green Valley Parkway. Patrons can bid on more than 200 gift baskets, holiday decorations, books and more during the annual benefit. Tickets are $35. For more information, visit hdplfriends.org or call 702-492-6584.

Chefs featured in digital cookbook

Local celebrity chef Laura Augsburger has joined with chefs and food bloggers across the country in the digital cookbook “Spreading Cheer With Philadelphia,” a book benefiting Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Campaign. The book includes Augsburger’s peanut butter mousse tart. Other submissions include Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger’s apple cream cheese bread pudding and key lime pie, and Izzy’s Red Velvet Curly Cake courtesy of Todd English. The book can be downloaded at cheesecakecheer.com. Police detective to sign ‘Off The Street’

Christopher Baughman is scheduled to sign copies of “Off The Street: Redemption,” a book based on his work with the Metropolitan Police Department, at 2 p.m. Nov. 16 at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble.

BOOK ILLUSTRATIONS ARE ON DISPLAY

An exhibit titled “Imaginings through Illustrations: Work by Children’s Book Illustrators” featuring artwork by illustrators Jorge Betancourt-Polanco, Elisha Cooper, Adam Gustavson, Bethanie Murguia, Kip Noschese and Joseph Watson is slated to be on display through Nov. 30 at the Historic Fifth Street School, 401 S. Fourth St. The exhibit is open by appointment. For details, visit vegasvalleybookfestival.org.

Maxwell Alexander Drake to speak

Local author Maxwell Alexander Drake is scheduled to present a lecture titled “Don’t Tell Your Story, Show It!” during a meeting of the Las Vegas Writers Group at 7 p.m. Nov. 21 at the Tap House, 5589 W. Charleston Blvd. The meeting fee is $5. For more information, visit meetup.com/Las-Vegas-Writers/.

Henderson musician Annie Meadows to read from Christmas children’s book

Henderson singer/songwriter Annie Meadows is scheduled to read from her book “The Lonely Little Rabbit: A Christmas Story” at noon Nov. 22 at the 567 N. Stephanie St. Barnes & Noble.

Meadows is also scheduled to perform at her 10th annual Christmas concert from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Dec. 14 at the Westin Lake Las Vegas, 101 Montelago Blvd. Admission to the concert is free. For more information, visit fathrunner.org

MEMOIR-WRITING WORKSHOPS SLATED

An ongoing series of free four-week memoir-writing workshops is scheduled from 10 to 11 a.m. Fridays at the Las Vegas FamilySearch Library, 509 S. Ninth St. For more information, call 702-382-9695.

Charleston Heights Arts Center to host discussion group

The Charleston Heights Arts Center, 800 S. Brush St., plans to host a book discussion group for readers 16 or older led by Aleida Castro. The group is slated to discuss “Exit Here” by Jason Meyers from 6 to 7:30 pm Nov. 14. The group’s next meeting is set for Dec. 12. Organizers suggest readers call 702-229-6383 to confirm which book will be discussed.

Roger Baum to sign ‘The Oz Enigma’

Local author Roger Baum, who is continuing the legacy of his great-grandfather L. Frank Baum, is set to sign copies of the book “The Oz Enigma” at 1 p.m. Nov. 23 at the 8915 W. Charleston Blvd. Barnes & Noble.

Series welcomes Kip Noschese

Kip Noschese, author of the children’s picture book “Otto & the Grand Prix Bees,” plans to meet with readers from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 20 in the lobby of the Paseo Verde Library, 280 S. Green Valley Parkway, as part of the READ Local Authors Series. For more information, visit mypubliclibrary.org.

Romance novelists plan signing

Sarah M. Eden is scheduled to sign copies of her romance novel “Longing for Home” and Julianne Donaldson is set to sign “Blackmoore: A Proper Romance” at noon Nov. 23 at the 567 N. Stephanie St. Barnes & Noble.

HENDERSON WRITERS GROUP MEETINGS SET

The Henderson Writers Group meets from 6:30 to 8:45 p.m. Mondays in room C-2 at Community Lutheran Church, 3720 E. Tropicana Ave. Meetings are typically canceled on holidays. For more information, visit hendersonwritersgroup.

ALIANTE LIBRARY TO HOST WRITERS CLUB

The Aliante Library Writers Club is scheduled to meet from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. the first Tuesday of each month at the Aliante Library, 2400 W. Deer Springs Road, North Las Vegas. For more information, contact facilitator Glory Wade at glorywadewriter@gmail.com.

BARNES & NOBLE TO HOST WRITING GROUP

The 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble hosts a writing critique group the fourth Monday of each month. The group is limited to the first 20 participants per meeting. Sign up at meetup.com/las-vegas-creative-writing-class.

TEEN WRITING CLUB TO MEET

A teen writing club for youths 12 to 17 is slated to meet from 4 to 5 p.m. Nov. 26 at the Green Valley Library, 2797 N. Green Valley Parkway. For more information, visit mypubliclibrary.org.

SHARE POEMS AT HUMAN EXPERIENCE

Polish up a poem or two and try them out at Human Experience, a free spoken word event, from 7 to 9 p.m. Mondays in The Beat Coffeehouse inside Emergency Arts, 520 Fremont St. For more information, visit lasvegaspoets.org.

FREE READ TO ME PROGRAM OFFERS STORIES ONLINE AND BY PHONE

Celebrity storytellers Oscar Goodman, Rita Rudner, Clint Holmes, Terry Fator, Carrot Top, The Scintas and others have donated their talents to the Clark County Education Association Community Foundation’s Read To Me program. Children can view more than 15 videos of celebrities reading books on the website at readtomelv.com. Stories also can be accessed by calling 702-240-2665. Both databases are frequently updated with fresh stories. Parents and teachers can download lesson plans for each book on the website.

DOWNLOAD BOOKS AND MORE FROM YOUR PUBLIC LIBRARY

Virtual Branch websites make it easy to browse, check out and download digital books and more to a home computer for free. All patrons need is a valid library card and an Internet-connected PC. Virtual Branch download websites feature a digital catalog of downloadable audio books, e-books, music and video titles. Each site is meant to look and feel like the library’s main site, and it has many easy-to-use features similar to an online store. Digital book downloads are borrowed just like print materials. Once patrons select the title or author they want, they follow the steps to check out and then download the title to their home computer. Patrons can transfer most titles to portable media players, such as MP3 players, PDAs, Kindles or smart phones. Each title that is downloaded has a designated lending period. When the title expires, it is automatically returned to the Virtual Branch, so there are no late fees. For more information, visit search.overdrive.com.

ZINE LIBRARY OPEN IN EMERGENCY ARTS

Grab a cup of coffee and check out the independently crafted magazines at the Las Vegas Zine Library inside The Beat Coffeehouse in Emergency Arts, 520 Fremont St. The library is more of a collection on display for reference and on-site reading than a checkout repository. Contributions of zines are appreciated. For more information, visit lvzinelibrary.blogspot.com.

FREE STORYCORPS TOOLKIT HELPS COLLECT MEMORIES

The national StoryCorps’ Memory Loss Initiative encourages people with memory loss to share their stories with loved ones and future generations. To make that task easier, a free step-by-step toolkit is available to download at storycorps.org/mli. The Commemorate toolkit offers an individual reminiscence program that family members can initiate or memory loss care facilities can add to activities. The initiative has collected more than 1,800 interviews with 180 partner organizations. For more information, visit storycorps.org or call 646-723-7027.

ACCESS RECORDED BOOK PROGRAMS ONLINE

Too busy to get out to book programs? The Las Vegas-Clark County Library District has started posting videos and podcasts of many of its programs online. Selections available so far include: “An Afternoon with Tony Curtis,” John L. Smith’s presentation “Amelia’s Long Journey: The Challenge of Writing What You Know,” “Batman” movie producer Michael Uslan’s presentation at the 2009 Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival, Jami Carpenter’s “ABCs of Editing” workshop and Brian Rouff’s “Getting Published: A Long Strange Trip.” To access the programs, visit lvccld.org, select “Books, Movies & More” and then “Video and Podcasts.”

The Black Mountain Institute has offered recordings of its programming since 2006. To access recordings of a gamut of writers from E.L. Doctorow to Alissa Nutting, visit blackmountaininstitute.org and select “multimedia.”

‘Bad Kitty’ author plans Las Vegas visit

Nick Bruel, best know as author and illustrator of the tales of the cantankerous cat Bad Kitty, is scheduled to sign copies of his soon-to-be released title “Bad Kitty Drawn to Trouble” at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 15 at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble.